Lord of the Seeds
Lord of the Seeds is the twenty-sixth episode of ObjectTales. The story is a parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" series and the film trilogy. Plot Mandalf (Mr. Bowlingpin) arrives in the shire for Philboy Paggypants' 122nd birthday party. Philboy (Grover Flashlight) talks about retiring and leaving the shire and uses a strange bean to produce a birthday cake. Returning to his home, he finds Mandalf waiting in his living room. Mandalf remarks on Philboy's impressive height, his fine clothing, and his luxuriously appointed home, knowing they have come from the seed, and warns his friend of using such things lightly. Philboy concedes that the bean has given him almost everything he could want. He then announces that he is leaving the shire due to dissatisfaction and bequeathing everything he owns, including the seed, to his nephew Soto (Little Tommy Cup). Waiting for Soto, Mandalf relates that Philboy has departed and draws his attention to the seed. Soto is curious as to why he would want a seed and Mandalf describes the origin of a magical seed that could produce clothing, consumables, and small kitchen appliances, and also change your appearance. After verifying the seed's authenticity from an inscription left after warming it in the fire, Soto is unsure about accepting such a gift and tries to pass it off to Mandalf. However, Mandalf explains that one cannot choose his gifts and must determine for himself how they should best be used. He then suggests that Soto travel to the Elders of the Bluberry Forest for insight with some friends that he has already gathered to assist with the journey: the ranger, Eye-a-Corn (Jerry the Clock); the elf, Arm-O-Lamb (Jimmy Spraycan); the dwarf, Kruppy (Pa Broomstick); and Arm-O-Lamb's brother (Jerry Spraycan) who had nothing better to do. They trek through the Mountains of Much Snowia and eventually reach the Bluberry Forest. There, Mandalf warns the others not to laugh because the elders have lost their sense of humor. The Elders welcome them and inform Mandalf that they must travel to the Land of Woe. The others burst into laughter upon hearing the greetings and native tongue of the Elders, which involves blowing raspberries. This gets them sentenced to detention on a platform forever until an eagle "saves" them and they escape. Leaving the forest, they emerge near the entrance to the Land of Woe. After opening the door, they realize that Soto is the only one small enough to fit through and he proceeds alone. However, the remainder of the group soon learns that a group of sporks, minions of the evil Creepyman (Lamp #1), are after Soto in order to seize the seed for their master. The fellowship then goes in pursuit. In the Land of Woe, Soto encounters a strange creature named Cough (Mr. Wario), who reveals that he was once a normal flobbit like Soto and the former owner of the seed. Cough then agrees to accompany Soto into Woe as a guide. Meanwhile, the others charge through the Red Gate, only to be trapped by the Sporks. The "Other Elf" then bakes cookies and gives them to the Sporks who have not eaten anything for days and the fellowship journeys on. Soto and Cough arrive in Woe to find a desperate people lacking the most basic necessities, such as food and water. Cough wants Soto to leave them, to use the seed for his own creature comforts, but Soto recognizes that he can use it to help the people of Woe. The fellowship arrives just ahead of Creepyman, who steals the bean. However, Philboy suddenly reappears, recovering the seed and returning it to Toto. Toto throws the bean into the well, bringing water back to the Land of Woe and restoring it to its fertile and beautiful state. Fun Facts Explanations * An optical illusion is a way of seeing something that does not exist or that is other than it appears. Trivia * This is the last time the 1997 Big Hive closing bumper is used. * This is the first main ObjectTales episode where there's no commentary track. Quinn Vischer and Jim Hodge later apologized about it. Though a character commentary track was featured in the DVD. * Shortly after the episode's release, Quinn Vischer got a notice from New Line Cinema about them not legally parodying the "Lord of the Rings" films without permission. This is the reason why The Wonderful Wizard of Auto was late in production. * Jerry got his unicycle from saving 500 boxtops from Frosted Flaky Flippers. * The answers the Fellowship guessed before Soto spoke up ** A cow ** An ostrich with a suitcase ** Bacon ** A vicuna ** A three ring binder ** A vespa ** A lint * The things Philboy got/received with the seed are: ** Making himself taller. ** Fine clothing. ** An espresso maker. ** A birthday cake. * The things Cough/Spiegel got/received with the seed are: ** Fine clothing. ** Lifetime of food (e.g., pizza, cupcakes). ** A fountain of Grape Nehi that shoots out from the ground. ** A 200 pound marshmallow Peep. Remarks * Jerry doesn't have legs, and yet he can pedal the unicycle. * Some of the other flobbits at Billboy's party are just cardboard cutouts. * This is one of the episodes where the Funny Song is in the later half in the runtime. * Mario seems to show his inner feelings of the What Have We Learned Song. Even Jerry thinks he's somewhat out of place. Goofs * When Mandalf pops up and asks Philboy why he looks different, Philboy is cross-eyed. Inside References * Some references in the countertop, such as Jerry almost falling in the sink and mentions of ObjectBeat were from Jeff, Austin & Yugo. In fact, this episode was released ten years after that said episode was released (1995). * Some of the sets were reused from the previous episode, such as the mountains and the underground lair. Even the hairbrush Grumpy offers to Cough was from that episode. * The small bee that shows up in the beginning and later appears when the group were stuck on the tree is the same model as Doodle Lou. * Some of the flobbits were about to eat a slice of pizza. * The Other Elf offers the sporks cookies. * Scaryman's "Show yourself!" is an echo of Angelo's line when he encountered Khail. * Jerry riding a unicycle is a talent he previously did on The Good, the Bad, and the Eggly. Real World References * Frosted Flay Flippers is a play on words for Kellog's Frosted Flakes. * Jerry's entire motif is a reference to the Keebler elf. Fast Forward * Mr. Wario and his habit for labor-saving devices would come in the second feature film.